


An Irregular Interlude

by ReconstructWriter



Series: Revelations [5]
Category: The Order of the Stick
Genre: 'This' Being Enslavement, Character Change Is Slow, Destruction of the Rebellion, Redcloak's Evil Alignment is Still Intact, Warning for Enslavement, Who Get Paid Way Too Much For This
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29117166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReconstructWriter/pseuds/ReconstructWriter
Summary: “You believe the conqueror of our city redeemable?” Ho Thanh replied incredulously to O-Chul's sending. “He enslaved our people. Those he did not kill. He is evil!"
Series: Revelations [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857955
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	An Irregular Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This should have been part four if my brain could be logical and orderly like it’s supposed to be! But I didn’t have this idea until after the actual part four was ready to go and I didn’t want to delay that. This story doesn’t have anything necessary to add to the rest of the series, just elaborates on another butterfly in this timeline.

“You believe the conqueror of our city redeemable?” Ho Thanh replied incredulously to the sending. “He enslaved our people. Those he did not kill. He is evil! We can’t make peace with—.”

Ten minutes later, an illusion of O-Chul appeared with a scroll, looking more battered and scarred than ever. “I know his evil,” the look in dark eyes backed him up, “But he healed when he could’ve cursed. He released when he could’ve captured. We murdered his family. Yet he spared me.”

Ho Thanh grimaced. O-Chul had ensured every new member of the Sapphire Guard knew all their history—the glory and the tragedy, the good and the evil. Once, the Guard had lost more to the Fall than any other reason. Yet that did not excuse…no, Thanh rubbed his temples, O-Chul was not giving him criticism or justifying tyranny. He was giving critical intelligence of the enemy. Ho Thanh was no O-Chul. Redeeming Redcloak, if it ever could be done, could not be done by him. Yet now he knew much of the conqueror’s motivations. A known enemy could be a dead enemy.

His first chance to use that information came not—and thank the twelve gods—from a run-in with the dark high priest, but from a group of escaped prisoners. These days many they rescued were injured or maimed, caught in the backlash of the lich’s temper. Thanh’s pitiful Lay on Hands could do little, but whatever healing he could spare, he gave. He had just finished knitting a pair of shattered legs on yet another prisoner when the scream pierced the air.

He dashed toward the sound, resonating from below the edge of the building. The man had already fallen, too far for an easy grab. Ho Thanh didn’t hesitate, flinging himself after the screaming victim. He clasped a desperate hand with his own and with the other he managed to snatch the rooftop before unhelpfully plummeting to both their deaths. Only then did he look down and realize a goblin grasped him back. 

“Oh Dark One please don’t let go,” he gibbered in fear, “I’ll do anything. Whatever you want. Anything you want to know…”

“Hang on Thanh,” Niu said.

“Just let him go commander,” team Peregrine’s leader said, “The only good goblin is a dead one.” 

Ho Thanh stared at the terrified creature in his grasp, one of the soldiers who lay waste to his people’s lives and conquered his city. He should let go.

“Just let go and we can pull you up,” he heard from above.

A harder heart than his would have obeyed, but Thanh could not stare at the terrified face and watery eyes which met his and release his grasp. Vengeance had not made him so cruel as that. He heaved with all his strength but only heard a crack as the edge of the roof began giving way.

“Thanh!”

Again he strained, this time catching his elbow on the roof but no further. He called down to the goblin, “Set your feet against the wall and climb.” Clawed feet slipped and scrambled for a few precious seconds before clinging tightly to the wall and Thanh was able to heave and roll at the same time, flinging them both back onto the roof with the last of his strength. The goblin immediately kissed the rooftop in gratitude. Thanh heaved great gulps of air and mentally thanked the twelve gods for their aid and for the lack of goblin gratitude on his person.

“I can be a spy,” the goblin offered later as Ho Thanh parted him from the other prisoners. 

“Unfortunately no, too many of my people won’t trust your information. However, you can thank me by leaving this place—.”

“Gladly, I don’t want to kiss that green ass any more than you do.”

“—And by not murdering, torturing or robbing others,” To the last the goblin agreed less enthusiastically. “Here.” Thanh handed over what supplies he could spare. “It is not much but should get you through the first few days.”

“Yeah. Thanks and…good luck.”

They parted without a backwards glance. As Ho Thanh rejoined his people, the elven commander spoke up. “Done kissing his ass then?”

“Why must everyone bring that up?”

Neither noticed another freed prisoner, eavesdropping.

“…and he just let the guy go.” 

The spy and his Sending dissipated, leaving Redcloak truly alone in his quarters. Of course a paladin would find some common ground with a bigoted goblin who turned on their own kind, Redcloak thought. Yet the excuse remained hollow, especially in the aftermath of the scrying spell he’d been snapped out of. A ghost of O-Chul’s empathy echoed as Redcloak cast his own Sending, “Glad he was spared. Good work and report.” He paused before adding, “Observe Ho Thanh and elves. Document spells, levels, tactics, especially of elves. Resistance layout and escape routes.” 

The remnants of the spell and O-Chul’s empathy vanished like a ghost before Turn Undead. As usual.

Redcloak faced the returning rebels, “You’re late.”

“Redcloak!”

“And your deplorable work ethic forced me to summon HR.” 

As the rebels scattered, Redcloak commanded his summoned minions to attack. “Capture as many as possible. They ought replace the stolen property they’ve taken. Then take them out of here.”

“People! Not property!”

“I will not serve a filthy goblin.”

“Hold Monster. Oh yes you will elf.” He approached the immobile prisoner, clasping irons around unmoving limbs and throat. “You’re going to be kissing a lot of goblin ass from now on so pucker up. Now,” he turned away from the team leader, “I believe one of you has some fine jewelry of mine.” 

“Supreme Leader, I have the Phylactery!”

“Excellent, now leave. You,” Redcloak beckoned a demon, “Ensure he makes it out.”

“No. Traitor!” A blue-caped figure charged.

“A Paladin? Well lord Xykon was missing his old toy. He’ll appreciate a new one. Grab him,” The paladin tried to dodge but could only struggle futilely against the Oganesson grip.

“Grrrrngh! Face me yourself goblin, one on one like a man, without your summoned toys. Or did the lich take your courage with your eye?”

“What I have lost to…lord Xykon I have gained in perception. Stupid risks are just that, stupid. Besides, with a new prisoner he may not have mutilating attention to spare elsewhere.”

The paladin ceased struggling long enough to look him in the eye, “If it spares people even a moment of pain, I will endure whatever the lich has of me.”

The sounds of battle echoed around him, oddly muted, as Redcloak stared at the paladin. “You don’t know what you promise.”

“I am promising people a respite, however feeble.” 

Redcloak should have stopped using that damn scrying spell. O-Chul’s memories tugged at the healer who had used a heal spell on a paladin prisoner, all mixed up with the spy’s report. No, this was a member of the Sapphire Guard, and not O-Chul anyway. No innocent paladin (nevermind one goblin). He deserved whatever rage Xykon would heap up on him.

Yet…

“I’ll be doing you a favor killing you.”

“I would rather do a favor for others,” the paladin said. “My corpse would do no good.”

“So self-righteous. Before my conjured toy crushes you, I want to know…how many goblins have you personally killed.”

The paladin seemed to consider this question for an unduly long time. “I have taken forty lives from your invading army. And not a single goblin has felt my blade before that dark day.”

Redcloak snarled, “That dark day only came about because your precious Sapphire Guard massacred my entire—” he stopped, gaining control over himself. He wasn’t here to spill his life story. “I couldn’t wait for the day I finally had an army to conquer this place.” 

The resistance headquarters, former title pending, fell eerily silent. The battles had died down as people were captured and dragged back out to Gobbotopia. In that silence, Redcloak’s ragged breathing was loud, but not loud enough to cover up what the paladin said next.

“I am sorry.”

“What?”

“I am sorry my people murdered your family,” a wince, “It was an evil act.” 

Had Redcloak been a dragon, he would have breathed fire. As it was, he stood in the silent cavern, his heart tearing itself apart. He tried to order the golem to crush the paladin already, but the words stuck in his throat. “Gods be damned paladins. Go…go throw him away,” Redcloak turned away, unable to watch. “A life for a life. Once. Next time I see you, you die. Or worse.”

“Wait! My people!”

Getting himself under control, Redcloak headed down the tunnels his summoned minions had taken. Just outside the former rebel headquarters, the sight of so many in chains, especially the utterly infuriated uppity elves, shriveled his sorrow. He turned to the headquarters and raised one hand, the other clasping his holy symbol. “Storm of Vengeance! Earthquake!” 

He took a good look at the horror, the fear and the despair in the faces of his new slaves. “No more resistance.”

Their heartbroken features failed to mend his own heart.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: At first, I didn’t know what to do with this part of the story. I thought about butterflying O-Chul into Thanh’s place in the resistance, but the next O-Chul and Redcloak confrontation would’ve only re-hashed part three. I would’ve also felt a little bad for kicking Thanh out of the spotlight. 
> 
> Canon would’ve been slightly unrealistic, given Redcloak’s glacial but present character development, and spat in the face of both said character development and O-Chul’s mercy. 
> 
> Then I thought, wait a minute, Redcloak does feel less vindictive about killing Thanh in canon. Apply his newfound character development to this encounter and just maybe he’d let Thanh live…and this whole thing sprang out. Redcloak still destroys the resistance and arguably he's even nastier at some points. But there in the dark...he did a good deed.
> 
> Don't tell Xykon.


End file.
